When a 14-year-old girl received a Facebook friend request from an older man she didn't know, she accepted it out of curiosity. It's a click she will forever regret, leading to a brutal story that has repeated itself as sexual predators find new ways to exploit Indonesia's growing obsession with social media.

The Israeli military says its aircraft struck a Palestinian rocket launching pad and an unidentified militant activity site in the Gaza Strip in response to persistent rocket and mortar fire from the coastal territory.

Honda's quarterly profit surged 36 percent as Japanese automakers bounced back from last year's tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan, but the company lowered its annual forecasts Monday because of a sales plunge in China.

Thousands of baseball fans took to the streets of San Francisco to celebrate the Giants second World Series title in three years as revelers gathered on street corners, in parks and at popular watering holes and car horns blared long into the night.

On the eve of the 2012 elections, The Associated Press interviewed dozens of Americans to try to gauge the economic mood of the nation. People were asked about jobs, housing, gas prices, retirement and other issues. Among them were a Chicago couple: Adrienne Cragnotti, 46, and Mike Eiler, 41. She's a self-employed photographer; he's an unemployed former copy editor. Despite career setbacks and a declining living standard, Cragnotti and Eiler remain optimistic.

Maya Fernandez Allende, the granddaughter of Chile's fallen socialist President Salvador Allende, won her first major political race on Sunday as leftist parties regained lost ground in municipal elections nationwide.

Philippine marines who were searching for long-held hostages battled al-Qaida-linked militants in a fierce clash that killed four marines and at least two insurgents in the country's south, officials said.

After three days of protests by thousands of citizens over pollution fears, a local Chinese government relented and agreed that a petrochemical factory would not be expanded, only to see the protests persist.

The Brazilian ruling party candidate easily won the mayoral race in South America's biggest city Sunday in a second-round vote, outpacing an experienced opposition rival and former presidential candidate.

Opposition Social Democrats won Lithuania's parliamentary election on Sunday after campaigning on promises to reverse unpopular austerity policies and boost social spending in the recession-scarred Baltic state.

Victims of Myanmar's latest explosion of Muslim-Buddhist violence fled to already packed displacement camps along the country's western coast, with a top U.N. official saying the unrest has forced more than 22,000 people from their homes.

he U.S. securities industry canceled equity trading on all markets Monday, moving to protect workers as Hurricane Sandy barreled toward New York City with 70-mile-per-hour winds and the threat of an 11-foot surge.

With Saturday’s 24-13 victory over UNLV, the Aztecs improved their win streak to four, tying their best in-season streak in 17 years. They’re also bowl eligible and poised on the edge of their third-straight bowl bid.

At the urging of Mayor Jim Desmond, the City Council last week directed city staff members to explore replacing some of the grass turf outside City Hall and along nearby medians with “native, drought- tolerant vegetation.”

Voters on Nov. 6 will be asked to choose from the six candidates to fill three seats on the Governing Board. Incumbents Nancy Chadwick, Rose Marie Dishman and Darrell McMullen are facing challengers John Halcon, a professor; Nancy Ann Hensch, a special- education teacher; and Roberto Rodriguez, a teacher.

SAN MARCOS — Two-year colleges have struggled under the weight of state budget cuts of more than $809 million over the past three years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Palomar Community College District is no exception.